Dudley Benson raised the prospect of the colourful crossing at the intersection of Moray Pl and lower Stuart St to support the LGBTQ+ community, in a Dunedin City Council meeting last month.
Since then, a petition in support of the idea has been on display in local businesses, closing last week.
Mr Benson said he was counting the total number of signatures received over the weekend and he thought the number would be "around the 2000 mark".
He said he was not prepared for the level of support for the issue, not just in a numerical sense but also from the comments that accompanied signatures.
"People are so excited about this representing a change in Dunedin . . . beyond just confirming that we love and support a rainbow community."
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After the petition was announced he was approached by several businesses and organisations wanting to get on board, with 35 locations eventually hosting copies of the petition.
Next week an online version of the petition would launch after requests from the public for an online option.
"There are many Dunedin people who live in other cities or aren’t here at the moment, or they’re friends and whanau or queer people in other parts of Aotearoa who want to sign and get behind this."
An initial meeting with a Dunedin City Council staff member had taken place to share progress and ideas between the two parties, Mr Benson said.
Council transport group manager Jeanine Benson, who is unrelated to Mr Benson, said council staff had started work to assess the project including the potential cost.
Discussions with potential stakeholders had begun and a report would be presented to councillors later in the year.
